This is a new issue I am just learning about and wanted to pass along to the group. Apparently governments around the world have been using this "outbreak science" in the background to make policy decisions about how aggressively to respond to this pandemic and to determine which strategies might be most effective. Models are used to forecast outcomes, very similar to how weather forecasting is done in the 21st century, except this discipline seems in its infancy, in fact the authors of the paper had to decide what to call it and they settled on "outbreak science." Here is a quote from the Executive Summary of a paper written by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: "During rapidly evolving infectious disease outbreaks like this, early understanding of the potential spread and severity of the outbreak can enable public health decision makers to take decisive action, even when data are scarce. Models are playing a prominent role in the ongoing COVID-19 response. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have both organized teams, primarily comprised of academic modelers, to support the response. These efforts underscore the important role that outbreak science plays in informing public health practice during times of great need. Nonetheless, more can and should be done. Despite the success of these COVID modeling efforts, there is room to expand and optimize the use of outbreak science in public health practice. As we detail here, there are gaps in our national capabilities that prevent the field from achieving its full potential. In this report, we review the challenges and opportunities facing outbreak science in the United States and propose a future direction to grow the field." The paper was published March 24, 2020. They sum up the problem with this quote in the introduction to the paper: “If it’s something that we consider mission critical as a nation, what’s our plan? As a government, what’s our plan to enable that? If it’s like, ‘well, [we know a guy], and he’s over at BARDA, . . . and fortunately, we have a bunch of university modelers who are willing to do this without getting paid much,’ that’s not a plan. That’s not a capability.” (Senior USG official) http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publications/2020/modernizing-and-expanding-outbreak-science-to-support-better-decision-making-during-public-health-crises [cid:image001.png@01D2CF14.4EBD9AB0]<http://www.dallascitynews.net/> Don Knight Senior Assistant City Attorney City of Dallas Dallas City Attorney’s Office Government Services Section General Counsel Division 1500 Marilla St., 7DN Dallas, TX 75201 O: 214-670-3224 don.knight@dallascityhall.com<mailto:don.knight@dallascityhall.com> DO NOT FORWARD WITHOUT SPECIFIC PERMISSION TO DO SO Please be advised that this e-mail is subject to being disclosed pursuant to a request for public information under the Texas Public Information Act. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication, including attachments, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, an employee or agent of the intended recipient who is responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, or you believe that you have received this communication in error, you are notified that any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited, may be unlawful, and are requested to reply to this email to notify the sender that you have received the communication in error and promptly delete this e-mail, including attachments without reading or saving them in any manner. Receipt by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is not a waiver of any attorney/client or other privilege.